We help our clients create value for customers, employees and shareholders.

Our scope of services includes:

 

Strategy Development
We help clients formulate strategic plans that strengthen competitive advantage in markets the clients currently serve and leverage the clients’ core competencies into new, attractive markets. Our approach is tailored to client needs and the CEO's preferences. Sometimes we will conduct an extensive strategic and operational review, providing an independent assessment of the client's strengths, weaknesses, and market opportunities. We make specific recommendations for investment and divestment among different lines of business. Our analysis and recommendations then become a basis for involving the client's key executives in developing the strategic plan. Other times, we will structure and facilitate a strategic planning process where the client's senior management team conducts the needed analysis and formulates strategic initiatives. We have developed and refined a collaborative planning process that is both analytically rigorous and efficient and that engages top and middle management in a fashion  that helps to ensure implementation.

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Operations Improvement
We work with clients to improve organizational effectiveness by recommending improvements in structure, process, systems, and people. We also may coach the CEO and other top executives to improve their leadership and teamwork. Assignments often focus on such specific objectives as improving the hiring and retention of staff, increasing profitability, enhancing service quality, streamlining or implementing information management systems to better serve staff and business processes, or augmenting the productivity of sales and marketing.

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Market Research
We conduct market research to inform major investment decisions and strategy development. We base our research in the private sector on a time-tested methodology that entails use of an automated economic database, telephone screening interviews, and face-to-face interviews with key prospects or customers. Our commitment to interaction with professional societies and organizations central to our clients’ market areas provides a powerful understanding of emerging needs and trends in the marketplace and in technical operations. Public sector research relies on our extensive library and on interviews. Assessment of competitors is based on our database of over 400 firms plus face-to-face interviews.

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Customer Surveys and Focus Groups
We conduct surveys of clients' existing and prospective customers. Our clients find these surveys to be invaluable in improving service and product quality, evaluating diversification options, and making marketing and sales more productive. Copies of interview notes also yield customer-specific marketing intelligence. Surveys cover such  topics as:

We also design and facilitate workshops for our clients' customers. We design these workshops to help customers address common problems while also yielding strategic insights for the clients' top leaders.

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Mergers and Acquisitions
We provide sell-side and buy-side assistance with mergers and acquisitions. We represent clients that wish to be acquired by identifying potential acquirers, developing an offering letter and memorandum, and assisting in all phases of the negotiation process. We provide advice on value and the structure of the offer and assist in due diligence. For buy-side clients, we help develop an acquisition strategy and criteria and implement that strategy by identifying attractive acquisition candidates using our vast network of contacts within the industry, by screening potential candidates, and by assisting with the negotiation process. The firm usually provides its M&A services under a retainer and performance fee arrangement.

Farkas Berkowitz & Company assignments take a variety of forms, including intensive engagements lasting three to four months, annual retainers, quick-response due diligence efforts, and half-day consultations.

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